He thought it was a heart attack, but it turned out to be the flu! The pain that woke him up: 'The secret perpetrator of young deaths'
Betül Topaklı / Milliyet.com.tr - Arın Kıraç was born in 2006. His mother was retired and his father was in business. Arın, who has an older brother, spent his childhood involved in sports with the encouragement of his family. Everything was going well for Arın, who was a first-year university student, a non-smoker and a regular exerciser. Until one morning, he experienced a very severe pain in his chest. Because this pain would not only wake him up from his sleep, but would also cause him to experience the fear of death firsthand. Arın describes those moments as follows:
“I didn’t expect to wake up early the night after the incident because I went to bed late. However, in the morning, a stabbing pain in my chest as if I were having a heart attack woke me up. I waited in bed for an hour for the pain to pass. When it didn’t, I even thought I was going to die. I even covered my head with the blanket and waited to die. Then I woke up my family and went to the hospital. The tests showed that my heart muscle enzymes were high. I stayed in the hospital for 4 days. During this time, a heart ultrasound, electrocardiography (ECG) and MRI were performed. I was diagnosed with heart flu.”
'IT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD OF HEART FLU'
Arın was very surprised when he heard about his illness . Because it was the first time he had heard about the existence of such an illness. After leaving the hospital, Arın rested for 3 months , took a break from his exercises during this period, paid attention to his diet and rested for a long time by not going out except for going to the market. After using medication for 4-5 months, he completely regained his health.
'THOSE AROUND ME WERE VERY SURPRISED BY MY ILLNESS'
The young man, who said that people around him were very surprised when he told them that his illness was heart flu, said, “People asked me, ‘What is heart flu ?’ Prof. Dr. Adnan Kaya had told me about it, and I told those who asked me. I was someone who normally went to indoor football matches 3-4 times a week. After this illness, I had to quit because it was a sport that required a lot of effort. My doctor said, “ This illness will come to you again, don’t panic when it does. Come to us again, we will do the necessary tests.”
“During the treatment, my doctor asked me if I had the flu recently. He said I had the flu a week ago. So this illness could be caused by a severe flu or a disease like coronavirus.” - Arın Kıraç
IT IS SEEN AFTER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION
Prof. Dr. Adnan Kaya, who stated that those who have recovered from respiratory tract infections can catch heart flu, said, “ After a viral infection, the body fights the virus and the immune system overreacts and can damage the heart muscle. This process sometimes passes with mild symptoms, while in some cases it can be serious enough to disrupt heart rhythm. Those who have upper respiratory tract disease with general symptoms such as sore throat, weakness, shortness of breath and malaise can apply to the hospital after a while with symptoms such as heart palpitations, chest pain and palpitations. Most of these cases are diagnosed with heart flu, which has been frequently seen in recent years. Heart flu is an inflammation of the heart muscle that develops after upper respiratory tract infections.”
“Heart flu is generally referred to in medicine as ‘carditis’ and refers to inflammation of different parts of the heart. It may present symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, palpitations or irregular heartbeat, discomfort that increases with exercise, fever (especially if it is due to infection).” - Prof. Dr. Adnan Kaya
'IT PROCEEDS IN THE SAME WAY AS A HEART ATTACK'
It is thought that the majority of young deaths are heart attacks . However, Prof. Dr. Adnan Kaya, who stated that some of these are also due to heart flu , shared the information, “Especially at a young age, some of the sudden deaths that occur without a known underlying heart disease may be due to ‘heart flu’, or myocarditis. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle and can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. This condition can sometimes result in sudden death and since it progresses in the same way as a heart attack (chest pain, death) when viewed from the outside, it is not noticed unless an autopsy is performed. Especially in young athletes, some of the sudden collapses are related to heart flu that develops after a viral infection .”
DOES IT AFFECT MEN MORE?
According to studies conducted worldwide , myocarditis affects approximately 1 in 100 thousand people per year. So, does this disease affect men more? Prof. Dr. Adnan Kaya answered our question by saying, “ There has been an increase in the incidence of myocarditis in some regions after the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, there is some data indicating that myocarditis cases have increased after vaccination, especially in men, in younger age groups where mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines have been administered. However, this increase is generally limited to short-term and treatable cases after vaccination.”
'WE RECOMMEND REST AND SUPPORTIVE TREATMENT'
Prof. Dr. Adnan Kaya, who emphasized that it is very important to protect against infections, strengthen the immune system and take general health measures since the disease mostly occurs due to viral infections, concluded his words as follows: “ In heart flu, rest and supportive treatment are recommended. However, some patients require follow-up and treatment in the hospital . ”
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